Hope?
by Amarantha1
Summary: Another school year at Hogwarts School of Wizardry and WItchcraft has began. Apparently everything is just like the year before, only now the headlines are tragic. Voldemort is back, but what if he's not the only one back? Something else is coming too, so
1. Despair

DESPAIR  
  
"Mom! Where's my red blouse? Have you seen it?" Lylah yelled from her room. Amy was already standing in the doorway when her daughter turned around. "Thanks!" Lylah said grabbing the blouse from her mom's hand. "So," Amy said stepping inside the room while Lylah finished getting dressed. "Who's the lucky guy? Where is he taking you? And most important, what time do you think you'll be home?" she asked leaning against the desk after pushing a few books back. "His name is Greg," she said putting on her blouse "We're going to the movies and then we'll go grab something to eat with the rest of the gang." She said walking over besides her mom and throwing paper at the floor, a few pens, opening a few drawers. "We should be home by ten." She said placing her hands on her wait and looking around, scanning the room as if trying to find something with an x-ray vision. "What are you looking for?" Amy asked. "My earrings. They were supposed to be here. Have you seen them? I can believe I lost it, they were my favorite!" Lylah said looking once more around her room. "Well, perhaps if you'd clean up this mess," Amy said gesturing to the room. The bed wasn't made, there were clothes all over the place, not to mention the piles of junk in every inch of the furniture. Even the TV and the stereo were covered with stuff. "You'd find it." Lylah gave her mother an impatient look. "I know, I know, I'll clean it up on the weekend, I promise. Now could you help me find the earrings? Greg will be here any - -" at that exactly moment someone rang the doorbell. "moment." She said sighing. Amy rolled her eyes. "The weekend. You promised." She said to Lylah. Amy looked around in the desk. "Are these it?" she asked smirking with her hand holding a pair of red earrings. "Thank you." Lylah said as she putted her earrings on and walking towards the door at the same time. "Hey Greg." Amy greeted him with a smile opening the door. Lylah grabbed her purse and her coat walking over besides her mother. "Hey babe, you ready?" he asked looking at Lylah. She rolled her eyes as she nodded. "Now don't bring her home too late." Amy said as they walked over to Greg's car. She watched they go in the car and heard him assure her Lylah would be home before mid night, before walking back inside.  
  
"Hey Lylah!" a girl voice greeted her when she got into the car. "Oh, hi Britney!" Lylah replied. "So, ladies, ready to go?" Greg asked as he closed the car's door. "So, what movie are we watching tonight?" he asked as the car drove off. "Not that the movie matters..." he smirked. "Oh behave Greg!" Lylah joked and they all laughed. Soon they were at the movie theater. They all got off the car and the guys went to buy the tickets. "Girl, you're sooo lucky!" Britney said as soon as she was certain the guys weren't able to hear it. "I mean, you're going out with Greg Taylor! How did you do that?" "Brit, you speak of him as if he was a celebrity or something!" Lylah exclaimed. "Well, but he is! I mean, come on! The guy is the star of the football team, only gets top marks... face it he's perfect!" she said. "He's a sweet heart, isn't he?" Lylah said looking at Greg, who waved at her (wave that she responded with a smile). "Sweet? He's a prince! Promise me, when you don't want him anymore, can I have him?" Britney asked in a joke tone, although Lylah knew better then that. She knew that the moment Greg was free, Britney would be all over him. "And how about David? You're going to leave him all alone?" Lylah asked in the same tone Britney had asked. "David is alright. He's cute, but so immature sometimes! He's a great guy and plus, he's loaded!" she giggled the last part. They stopped talking because the guys had arrived. "Let's go? The movie is about to begin." David said holding Britney's hand.  
  
"Sure, you guys go ahead, we'll get the popcorns." Greg said. "Okay, man, we'll save you two a seat." David replied and, putting his arm around Britney's shoulder, went in. Greg waited until they were out of sight and gave Lylah a small kiss on the lips. "Come on." He said taking her hand and leading her to the line to get popcorn. It was quicker then they figured it would be, considering the size of the line, in less then ten minutes they Greg had the four sodas and Lylah had the large popcorn. "Hey! Hey! Hey! Easy on the popcorn, I'll be wanting some!" Greg joked when Lylah put a popcorn in her mouth. She grabbed another popcorn and she would have given it to him if a man hadn't bumped onto her. "Hey! Watch it!" Greg said angrily at the guy. "Are you alright?" he asked her holding her arm. "Yeah, don't worry." She said looking at the direction the guy had gone with a somewhat puzzled expression. "At least you didn't throw the whole thing on the ground..." he joked gesturing to the floor that was now covered with a few popcorns. "Well, Britney and David won't be wanting any..." She giggled and they entered.  
  
"Oh! Did you see the dress Claire was wearing today?" Britney said as they walked on the parking lot. "So eighties! And she thinks she's sooo cool! I seriously think that girl has problems. Ok, so her boobs are big. But Cinch told me they're fake. Rumor has it that Melanie's father was the one that did the surgery. It's pathetic, right?" Britney asked Lylah. Britney always took this matters very seriously, as if her life depended on it or something. Lylah rolled her eyes. "Pathetic is the fact that we have to go to school tomorrow when the rest of the country is enjoying their vacations." Lylah sighed. "Yeah, I don't know what got into their heads to start school in the middle of August. Would it cost too much to wait until September?" David asked getting in the back seat with Britney. "I can't complain, it's my last year there so..." Greg said a little disappointed. "Did I hear you all want pizza? Alright, then." He said getting in the car, his Irish accent was very clears sometimes, and this was one of those times.  
  
They went to the pizza place and there they stayed for a couple of hours chatting about the new school year, games they would have to play... "When did the conversation turned this way anyways?" Lylah asked a bit upset. "Oh, come on Lylah!" Britney said showing impatience "You can't seriously be upset with that!" she said. "I just think everyone should be able to have their own opinions!" she said matter of factly. "I believe witches exist and that they are not all mean and ugly like most people think." She stated. "Okay, I agree with the opinion part, but come on! You can't be serious about believing in witches!" Greg said with a non believer face. "they are fairy tale characters. Made up to scar us. That's it, end of story. I already hear a lot about magical creatures from my grandpa. The old man thinks there are real leprechauns!" He said. Lylah sighed but said nothing. It was useless, they had their minds made up, and if they wanted to keep being that closed minded, she was not going to bother trying to change it. "Yeah, every time he sees a rainbow he tries to find the end of it to get the gold." He laughed. "Needless to say he never found it." Greg added. They started to discuss how ridiculous all of those things were, but Lylah didn't pay attention. First she followed an ant that was on the floor caring an oregano leaf. Then she turned her attention to the chef, who was throwing pizza in the air. She watched him catch it and repeat the movement tree times before laying it on the balcony and start spreading sauce on it. "What now, trying to summon the pizza to the table?" Britney said sarcastically. Lylah gave her a half smirk. "I think we better get going, after all tomorrow we'll have to get up early." Greg said smirking. David snorted, but Britney seemed to enjoy the idea. They paid the bill and soon Lylah was on her door steps. "So, see you tomorrow?" Greg asked lowering himself down in a way where his head was in the same level as hers. "Yeah." She said. "hey, about the witch thing..." "Don't sweat it. I over reacted, that was all." She said and offered him a smile. He smiled back and gave her a kiss before walking back to the car.  
  
Next morning Lylah woke up with her mother calling her. "what?" she asked sleepy. "You're gonna be late." Her mom said handing her a cup of coffee. "Morning already?" she said sitting up on her bed and brushing the hair away from her face. "I feel like I just laid down." She said lazily getting the cup of coffee and drinking from it. "That's why you don't go out when it's school night." Amy said opening the drapes. "Mom!" Lylah cried shielding her eyes from the sun light. "What? You're a vampire now?" Amy joked. "Yeah, that must be it." Lylah answered getting up and placing the cup on her night stand before stretching. She got dressed, brushed her teeth and headed down stairs. "Mom, don't forget that I have the meeting this afternoon, so you have to pick me up." She said grabbing her books. "I'll be there! Four o'clock." Amy shouted from the kitchen. "Have you seen my jeans jacket?" Lylah asked looking at the coat racket. "Never mind!" she yelled when she heard the horn. "The bus is here. I'll go with the one I went last night." She said grabbing her black leather jacket from the closet. "Okay, have fun!" Amy shouted from the kitchen. "Bye!" Lylah replied as she went out the door.  
  
It was a beautiful morning, no clouds could be seen in the sky. It was the fourth day of class for the Saint German's High School students and they were already discussing their plans for the ball, which was not happening until the end of November. Other then that, the day went by pretty uneventful. The important things happened only when the bell rang releasing most of the students. The first soccer practice was today and so was the first meeting for the ball's committee. "Okay, we have the music, the refreshments... all we need now is a theme. Any suggestions?" Lylah asked for the dozen of girls and a couple of guys in the room. "Oh, I know." Brigit said raising her hand. "How about the spooky things of the world. Like, for example, witches?" she suggested and almost every girl on the room giggled. "Am I missing something here?" Lylah asked noticing Britney was looking at her funny. "Oh! Right!" the girl said sarcastically. "Don't worry Lylah, we will only invite the good witches to attend." She said and the girls all giggled again. Lylah shot a look at Britney who didn't see, or pretended not to see, because she was giggling about something another girl had whispered to her. "Next meeting we'll find a theme then." Lylah said closing the note book where she kept record of all that went on during the meetings. She stood up, said see you tomorrows for a couple of people (mostly for the people that wasn't giggling) and went out to wait for her mom on the parking lot behind the school. "Lylah!" she heard someone calling her and turned to look. It was Greg. "Hey babe." He said and gave her a small kiss. "I just got out. Been here long?" he asked. "No, actually, just got here myself." She said trying to ignore the girls that came out from the room where the meeting took place, they were all whispering, pointing and giggling. "And what was that all about?" he asked her with a puzzled face as he watched the girls walk away, some looking back from times to time. "That was Britney." Lylah sighed. "Apparently she told people I have a thing for witches." Lylah explained. "It could be worst." Greg said with a serious face. "She could have said you had a thing for leprechauns, that wouldn't be good." He smirked and placed his arms around her. "True." She smiled. "It still sucks though." She sighed. "How was practice, by the way?" she asked attempting to change the subject. "Practice was good. We mainly just did some playing and getting to knowing each other since half of the team is new. But I'm really confident this year, we're gonna win, I can feel it." He said happily. "How was the meeting?" he asked. "It was okay, we got most of the things done. We don't have a theme though." She said matter of factly. "I'm sure you'll find it." He said giving her another small kiss on the lips. "Hey Greg!" "My ride." He told her. "Coming Josh!" he yelled to the guy who was standing a few feet behind them. "Gotta go. See you tomorrow?" he asked. "Yeah." She nodded and received another kiss before he went away. She watched him walk away for a while and then turned again, to wait for her mom. Amy didn't take too long to get there, what turned out to be a great thing, since Britney and David were coming her way.  
  
The other couple of days went pretty much uneventful. The talking about Lylah and witches had died down, she hadn't heard of it since the meeting. She thought Greg had something to do with it seeing that he and David were not in the best terms. He had probably told David he didn't like what Britney was doing and they argued about it, mainly because of Britney. Lylah had only been going out with Greg for about of months and it felt like they were dating for ages. She was pretty happy and he seemed to be as well. At their date on Saturday, he had asked her if she'd like to go to the ball with him, what meant they were getting serious. She, of course, accepted and the next day was planning what she would wear. It was Saturday, exactly a week after he asked her to the ball. There was a pool party at Mike's house. All the people who were considered popular were there. The weather didn't help much though. After a couple of hours it started to rain and most people left. Greg, Amy, David and Britney stayed to help Mike clean up. In the end only Mike, Greg and Lylah stayed, since Britney was complaining so much about how much she was not having fun that David decided to take her home before Mike could throw her out. "Hey, Mike, what's there?" Greg asked nodding to a bunch of trees that were planted forming a wall, only in the very right there was a gap, a space big enough for one person to pass. "I don't know." Mike shrugged. "We moved just before school started so I didn't really have time to explore. It's probably an old cemetery, though. You know how this old houses are." He said putting a pile of plastic chairs away. "Cool." Greg replied as he raised the plastic table from the ground to place it with the chairs. Lylah kept there, while the two guys had gone into a room a little away from the house where they placed all the pool accessories. She was picking up all the glasses people left and throwing it on the trash. She couldn't help glancing over to the wall made of trees every once in a while. She wished Mike had never said that might be a cemetery a few feet away from them. She knew she could sound silly, but she wasn't too fond of cemeteries, it gave her the chills ever since the dream she had a couple of months ago. "Hello?" a male voice said behind her, making her drop the pile of glasses on the floor. Lucky they were made of plastic. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you." He said offering her a sympathetic smile. "Oh, no, it's okay." She said now more calm. "I'm really jumpy sometimes." She told him. "Ah! How rude of me, I'm the neighbor, Tom." He said pointing to the place behind the trees and then extending her hand for her to shake. He was taller then her, and judging by his hair - that had a few grey strings - he should be about fifty. "Nice to meet you Mr.. Tom. I'm Lylah, a friend of the owner." She said shaking his hand. "It's nice to know there's a house behind those trees and not a cemetery like they say." She said smiling. "Just Tom. Actually there is a cemetery, in the other side of the hill." He told her. "It's my family's. You see, this house belongs to my family every since my great-grandma - that she rest in peace - could remember." He said. "Oh! Traditions are always good." She said not too happy about the fact that there was actually a cemetery there. At least there was a hill between her and the cemetery. "You know - and forgive me if I'm stepping over the line here - you remind me so much of my grand daughter! The resemblance is uncanny! She was very pretty." He said. "Thank you." She said politely. Something inside of her was telling her not to ask what had happened to his grand-daughter, but she didn't hold herself. Luckily or not she had just opened her mouth to speak when Mike and Greg arrived. "Hello." Greg said politely passing one arm around Lylah's waist. "Hi. I'm Tom, Your neighbor." The man said extending his hand. "I'm Mike and this is my friend Greg." Mike said shaking Tom's hand. "If you're looking for my parents, they are working right now." He said. "Well, I think I'll come by later then. It was nice to meet you all." He said and, with a smile turned around and went away. "Okay, he was weird." Mike said turning to Lylah and Greg after Tom had left. "Who's weird?" a female voice asked from the house. "Mom! You just missed our neighbor, Tom." Mike said. "These are Greg and Lylah by the way." He said picking the trash bag Lylah was using to put the glasses inside and putting it inside the trash can. His mom set heavily on a chair after greeting both Greg and Lylah and his dad didn't take too long to come by. "Hello everyone." He said apathetic. "What is wrong with you two?" Mike asked as they finished cleaning up the place. "There were two other two deaths today. We've been dealing with the bodies all this time, and still can find a cause of death." His father said. "They sent the bodies away saying it was a heart attack, which was very hard to explain considering one was a seven year old girl." He sighed. They both looked very tired, so Greg and Lylah didn't stay much longer. But instead of going straight to her house they stopped the car and went for a walk. The sun was setting and they set to watch it. After long moments of silence he finally spoke. "Lylah, I'm really glad I met you. You know before heading off to college and all." He said smiling at her. He took her hand into his. "Lylah," he said looking into her eyes. "Would you be my girlfriend?" he asked. She giggled lightheaded and nodded. He leant over and kissed her. Wrapping his arms around her he gave her a hug, like he had never given anyone else. "I love you." He whispered in her ear. "I love you too." Was her only reply. She backed away to kiss him. "Oh, isn't this a lovely scene!" a cool voice said. They both looked at the shadowy figure standing a couple of steps from them. It was a really weird person indeed, weirder then Tom. This one was wearing a hooded black robe and a mask. "Shame to interrupt such a scene, but if I didn't I might have thrown up." The man said sarcastically pulling out something from inside his cloak. Before Greg and Lylah could have gotten up completely a blinding green light appeared, Greg pushed Lylah aside and she felt down. When the light vanished, Lylah crawled up to Greg and held him in her arms. Tears falling from her eyes the moment she realized he was dead. She looked at the figure, hate mixed with the tears. What she saw made her more angry, the man was laughing, he seemed to be enjoying that scene. "Alright now, to finish up the job." He said pointing the thing at her. Now she could see a wooden stick, the man was holding a wand. But before he any word came out of his mouth, a small pop sound was heard and another man appeared besides the masked one. The other man couldn't be older then Lylah. Before the man who showed up later could do anything, the masked one vanished. Lylah wasn't understanding a thing. The second man rushed to her. "Are you alright?" he asked placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. Lylah, who was gazing at the floor still holding Greg's lifeless body, looked up at the man. Her eyes filled with tears. "Would you call my mom, please." She said as a tear rolled down her cheek. "She'd know what to do." She said in a calm crying voice. "Sure." The man said smiling. "But first, come on, get up." He said taking her arms from around Greg's body and pushing it out of her lap. She got up with his help. "What's your name?" he asked her helping her get balance. "Lylah." She said only now noticing a few other man had appeared and the police had shown up too, as well as Mr.. MacDougall, Mike's dad. "Well, nice to meet you Lylah, I'm William, but you can call me will." He said walking her away from the body. Lylah was shaky and had a numbness feeling. She knew there were people around her, she could hear a buzz, which meant they were talking, but she couldn't really think straight. The tears had stopped falling from and her face was expressionless, her eyes fixed on the ground all the time. "Will, let me handle her, okay?" said a familiar voice. Lylah realized the guy that helped her was walking away and another man was holding her by the arms. "Lylah?" the familiar voice called. "Lylah!" it called again and she slowly raised her eyes to meet his. "Do you remember me? Mike's father?" he asked and she nodded. "Good, honey, I need to know exactly what happened." He said and she noticed they had walked a fair distance and now she had a bench on front of her. She set down and told him all she could remember, how they were sitting talking about stuff (she didn't mention the love thing), the man who showed up from the air, almost as if it had materialized there... "(...) The green light and then I saw Greg, lying on the floor. At first I thought he only had fallen, but I soon noticed he was dead. And the man stood there laughing at all of that. He was going to kill me, I know he was going to, he would have except that guy, Will, showed up and he ran away." She told him. "That was all?" he asked her. "Yeah..." she said. "My mom, where is she?" Lylah asked him. "We'll take you to her as soon as we... modify your memory a little." He told her and took a step away from her. Lylah turned her head to see what he was going to do since she thought she had heard him wrong, how could he modify her memory? She saw him pull out a wand, much like the one the masked guy had. "What are you going to do?" she asked him. "Lylah, it's for your own good." He said. "She's better off knowing and remembering exactly what happened." A demanding voice said as Mr.. MacDougall had opened his mouth to say the incantation. "Mom!" Lylah cried out rushing over to her mother and hugging her. MacDougall sighed. "Great, now there are two!" he mumbled. "Excuse me m'am, but this is a crime scene, you can't just burge in like this! I would ask you to please, go back to your car and wait there until we're finished here." He said with a tired voice.  
  
"My daughter is part of the crime scene, and I'm not leaving her side!" Amy stated. "MacDougall!" someone called and he turned around. Will rushed up to him. "Let me handle them, okay. Go home, you're tired. Just go be with your family and I promise, any problem I have I'll call you." Will said in a low voice. Mike's dad looked at Amy and Lylah and then back at Will. "Alright." He said reluctantly. "But any problem..." "I'll let you know in a heartbeat." Will reassured him and, in a blink of an eye, Mr.. MacDougall was gone. Lylah looked over at Will, who was walking towards them, but her eyes were focused on the back ground. She could see pictures being taken, and a person jotting some notes down. "Hello." Will said with a friendly smile. "I'm Will, I've spoken to your daughter a few moments ago, Mrs...." Amy smiled, at least this guy was polite. "Look at me." She simply said. She looked at him for a few moment and gave up. Will was looking so confused she decided to explain it to him herself. "Will, how old are you?" she asked. "I'm nineteen, Mrs...." he answered trying again. "Nice try." She smirked. "So you graduated last year?" she asked. "Yeah, it's been only a year since I'm working here, why?" he asked. "You haven't been to the lobby yet, have you?" she asked. "No,I haven't, the lobby is just for the more experienced au -" he stopped. "Nice try, but you're not making me forget what I have to do. Listen," "No." She said not letting him finish whatever he was gonna say. "You listen. If I tell you my marriage name, you're gonna look at me really scared. If I tell you my maiden name, you'll probably have a heart attack, therefore call me Amy." She said. "Now, here's what you're going to do: do you see those reporters over there?" she said pointing at the people now talking with two robed man. "They have to go. Yes, shoe them out. No answers, no nothing. Just do it. Then, contact the victim's parents, you should have done that before anything else. They have the right to know." She said and kept looking at him, waiting for a response. Will said nothing, his face was pale and he was suffering from loss of words. But before he could think of something to say she spoke again. "After you done all this you can come by my house and ask me all the questions you want." She said and turned around to leave. Lylah hardly heard a word her mother had said, she was too busy watching Greg's body being removed. By the time she got to the car, her eyes were filled again with tears. The drive home was as quiet as could be. Lylah hardly noticed all that, for her it was like time was flying by, every hour felt like a second. Amy led Lylah to her bedroom and the girl laid there. Without saying a word, Amy stayed with Lylah until her daughter had fallen asleep.  
  
The next day was the worst in Lylah's opinion. She had waken up, got dressed, got down to the kitchen and set down to eat break feast. After she ate, she got up and only after she reached her books she remember it was Sunday, she remembered what had happen and it hurt. She stood there, looking at her books, in her minds so much was going on that it seemed it was empty. She watched as a tear felt on her book cover, the noise echoed in her mind. She turned to her mother, who was now standing at the kitchen's door, eyes glittering. "Honey, come here." Amy said walking over to her daughter and placing her arms around her little girl. Amy led Lylah to the couch and they both set down. "Lylah, drink this." She said handing to Lylah a cup. The cup was filled with a substance that didn't have a smell, like boiling water, that let out fume but didn't smell and it tasted like chocolate dissolved in water. The taste wasn't the greatest in the world, but it made Lylah feel better. It gave back the color of her face and made her think as she used to. "There are things in this world which it's really hard to explain, and sometimes, harder to understand." Amy said as Lylah sat the cup down. "We are part of that world. Do you remember all those stories I told you, all those things I've taught you, about magical animals and stuff?" Lylah nodded. "Well, they're real. And you, just like me, just like your father... You're a witch Lylah." Amy looked at her daughter, she knew it would be difficult for Lylah to accept the reality, but Amy couldn't really blame her. "So, the guy that killed Greg was a... a Death Eater?" Lylah asked rather fast, in Amy's opinion. "Yeah, because Greg was a muggle." She explained to her daughter. "Oh!" she said looking blankly at her mother. "I didn't you tell me before?" she questioned. "To keep you safe. So I brought you here, where I thought no one would ever come near. And I was wrong. But don't worry, we'll go to a safer place now, a new school, a new life." She said. "But I like my life here." Lylah told her. She had to push the tears down again. She knew how painful it would be to walk along the High School corridor's again, to even face her class mates. "And what about dad?" she asked. "That's a subject, we'll have to speak of when you're calmer. Because he's a very delicate situation." She told Lylah. "Fine." Lylah said bitterly. "I'll go pack." She said getting up and headed to her room. Amy heard the door slamming, and things been throwing around. The stereo came right after it, really loud playing rock music. "I swear that's not what I wanted." Amy said to herself, clutching in her hand the locket she always worn around her neck. 


	2. Snape's Secret

SNAPE'S SECRET  
  
"I hate it already." Lylah stated as the castle came into view.  
  
"Well, tough." Amy simply said. They had come by car, but were now walking towards the school, the bags floating behind them as they walked to the castle.  
  
"I just don't understand why we had to come! Why couldn't't I stay?" Lylah sighed.  
  
"We've been over this more then one time. Lylah it's about time you acknowledge all of this. You have to know who you are!" Amy told her.  
  
"I know who I am and I embrace it. You can teach me, with books, I'm a quick learner, aren't I? I learned all those spells in no time. Ok, yeah, so there are a few I can do better... Now, let's go back." She said turning around.  
  
"Oh, no missy." Amy said grabbing her by the arm. "I came this far, I'm going to the end of it." She said.  
  
"Well, you don't seem pretty happy about it either." She stated.  
  
Amy sighed. "Okay, cards on the table: Fifteen years ago I walked away from this place, with you in my arms. And left behind one of the, if not the, most important person to me." She said somewhat gloomily.  
  
"You're talking about dad aren't you?" Lylah said in a serious tone.  
  
"Yeah, I am." She sighed. "Here's where we met, where we felt in love and where we lived for some time." She said.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me?" Lylah asked. "I had the right to know, hadn't I?" she said loudly. "And all those years I wondered where he was, what he did... I can't believe you didn't tell me!" she said rather angrily.  
  
"I know it will sound selfish, but there was a reason why I didn't tell you Lylah! And I will be more then happy to tell you once we get inside." Amy said.  
  
"So, he's in there?" she asked gesturing towards the castle.  
  
Amy just nodded, watching her daughter, who was trying to avoid eye contact with Amy, but saw her answer.  
  
"If that's what it takes for me to see my father then..." Lylah said and set off towards the castle. All the way to there, no word was spoken.  
  
*******  
  
They reached the marble doors, which opened magically, and entered the castle. The minute Lylah set her foot inside the castle, something came zooming through the air almost knocking her down.  
  
"Peeves!" Amy called and the zooming thing froze immediately.  
  
"Merry Christmas my lady!" the poltergeist greeted her. "To what do I owe the honor of your visit?" he asked making faces during all his little speech.  
  
Amy giggled lightheaded. "I'm not visiting, I'm staying." She told him.  
  
"Oh, goody!" he said clapping his hands. "I set up a welcome feast for you in two days! But you have to promise me you'll take me." He winked.  
  
"Nice try, Peevsy." She giggled. "You know you're not suppose to attend the feast! But I'd like to ask you two things. One: where is the Headmaster?"  
  
"He's in a meeting with the staff in the staff room, they just shooed me out!" he said bouncing off the walls.  
  
"Well, thank you. Would you be kind enough to accompany Lylah to the Dungeons?" she asked.  
  
"Anything for you milady." He said and gave her hand a kiss, more out of mockery then anything.  
  
"And Peeves, be nice to her, I mean it." Amy said in a grave voice. Peeves nodded.  
  
"Lylah, I'll go check on you later, okay?" Amy said smiling.  
  
"Yeah, whatever." Lylah replied and started to follow Peeves. It wasn't an easy task because he kept passing through walls and she had to wait for him to come back so he could show her the way. After a little less then half an hour she finally reached her room. Throwing her stuff on the floor, and throwing herself on the bed, she felt asleep.  
  
A couple of hours latter Lylah woke up. She couldn't believe how tired she felt. Even after sleeping she just felt like dropping her head back on the pillow and sleeping again. She didn't want to get up, she didn't want to do anything, she just wanted to lie there, probably forever. With a heavy sigh and all the muscles of her body protesting, she got up and, grabbing a book, went down to the common room. There she set on an easy chair to read. But before she could start reading, she saw two figures (that didn't seem to notice her) talking.  
  
"I know what you are and I know why you made that choice Severus." Said the man who was standing up. He looked older then the other man and, although his voice sounded at the same time disappointed and understanding, he looked almost fatherly like.  
  
"I wanted too much at too little time..." the man sitting down said. "How did you know?" he asked looking up at the first man.  
  
"I added two and two..." he smiled friendly like.  
  
"What now? You're gonna kill me? Or you're just going to hand me over to the ministry wrapped in a red bow?" Severus asked trying to be sarcastic.  
  
The first man sighed heavily and set down besides Severus. "You want my help, I want yours. How about we make a deal?"  
  
Severus eyed him suspiciously for a while. "What do you mean by that?" he finally asked.  
  
"I know you didn't enter Voldemort's circle only to be a Death Eater, only to obtain power. But my point is: you're there. And I need someone trust worthy to pass me information." He said looking straight to Severus.  
  
"And with that I get my freedom." Severus asked more then stated.  
  
"No, the freedom is just a consequence. You'll get a job here, as a teacher, we have an opening on Potions, and I'll also make sure she stays safe." The older man said.  
  
"You can guarantee me she'll be safe?" Severus asked now looking more hopeful.  
  
"I promise to do my best." The first man replied smiling.  
  
"You really trust me that much, Dumbledore?" Snape asked.  
  
"If *she* does, why shouldn't I?" he asked smiling friendly. The Severus got up and they both were going to leave. Lylah watched the whole scene and couldn't quite figure out what was happening. She stood up quickly and cried "Wait!" but a loud noise made she look away. On the floor laid her book. She looked back at the portrait hole, but there was no one else there.  
  
"Where did they go?" she asked looking around. She walked out of the Common Room and faced the portrait.  
  
"Where did those two men went?" she asked the portrait hoping it would know.  
  
"Two men?" it asked. "No one left except you! And I can assure you that no one walked in here since you did earlier this afternoon." It added.  
  
Lylah looked around confused as could be. She couldn't have seen something that wasn't really there, that wasn't happening? Who were those two? Lylah said the password and went in. She walked over where she was sitting before and picked up her book. Lylah looked around one more time hoping the men would be there and she could ask them questions, but they weren't. She looked back at the book and passed her hand on the golden letters projected out of the night blue back ground and read: Mythical Creatures and Ancient believes. That was her favorite book, her mom had given her the year she turned eleven and ever since she had read it every time she had a chance to. She remembered the Oracles from the Ancient times and wished one of those was there at the Common Room. At least it would be able to answer her question, even if in riddles. 'Yeah, like that would happen any time soon...' she thought to herself.  
  
Lylah was always fascinated with this type of things: Mythical creatures, the unknown, magic... That's why, for her, it was no surprise when her mother confirmed that she was a witch. The only thing Lylah didn't think was that there were actual schools that taught magic. Lylah went up to her room, to put her book away, for what she could tell it was almost dinner time.  
  
She went back to the Common Room, hoping her mother would be there, but she wasn't. It looked like Lylah would have to find the Great Hall herself. She sighed heavily before going out to the corridors to begin her quest.  
  
Meanwhile Amy went to her room, to put away her things, she would speak with Dumbledore later. Every turn she made her heart would give a jolt in hope to bump into her husband. She longed to see him more then anything.  
  
She stood facing the painting that was hung hiding the teacher's sleeping chambers. No sign of him, not one what so ever. She couldn't help frowning. She didn't know what to say when she saw him, but she didn't care. All that matters was that she was going to see him.  
  
She spoke the password and entered. There were pictures of all the teachers that taught at Hogwarts ever since it was fund hung on the walls. She stopped on the seventh door on the right and pushed it open.  
  
"OH! Sorry..." she exclaimed taking a step back. "I didn't meant to... I thought... I'm so, so sorry, I think I'm mistaken rooms." She said a little embarrassed.  
  
"No harm was done." Said the little figure smiling. "You must be the new teacher am I right? Prof. Flitwick, nice to meet you." He said offering her his hand to shake.  
  
"Yes." She said relieved. "I'm Prof. Amarantha but you can call me Amy." She said shaking his hand and offering him a friendly smile.  
  
"Well, then Amy, Dumbledore is waiting you in his office. The password is Chewing Gum Rats!" he told her.  
  
"Thank you!" she answered. "And it was nice meeting you." She said before setting off to Dumbledore's office.  
  
*********  
  
"That was not what we agreed!" Snape said enraged..  
  
"You must understand, Severus, the situation has changed." Dumbledore answer calmly.  
  
Snape's black eyes were fixed on the headmaster. How could he be so calm, sitting there so relaxed??! Didn't he realized what was happening?  
  
"You said you would her safe and I would do everything I could to help." Snape said containing his anger. "I helped and am helping still. So how come -" Dumbledore raised his hand on the air in a very calm gesture and Snape stopped talking.  
  
"I stand by my word. What you must understand Severus is that the situation is changed." Dumbledore stated calmly. Snape would have said something, but decided not to. "The place where they were, is no longer safe." Dumbledore sighed. "There was a very close call, a couple of days ago." He started. Snape's mouth widened half in horror and worry some half to say something, but Dumbledore beat him to it. "Luckily no one got hurt. Well, not physically anyway." The headmaster concluded.  
  
"What do you mean 'not physically anyway.'?" Snape asked concerned.  
  
"It's better for her to tell you. After all, I only got half of the story."  
  
"And when exactly are they arriving?" Snape asked a little too coolly.  
  
"They should've arrived already." The headmaster said checking the clock. "Oh, and that reminds me: I told the elves to put her things on your sleeping chamber. I presume that would be the most reasonable thing to do since -" a soft knock on the door stopped him. "Enter." He simply said.  
  
Snape turned around and looked at the door. Even if he wouldn't demonstrate it: his heart was going faster and there was only one person he wanted to see walking in that office.  
  
"Excuse me, Dumbledore?" Amy asked pushing the door open. "Prof. Flitwick said you were..." her voice faded once she got sight of her husband standing there.  
  
"Ah! Prof. Snape, come in!" Dumbledore said in a delighted voice. "Hum, I think we might have a little problem with the names..." he said thoughtfully as neither of the other two people moved. "So," he said standing up. "I think we can have our little chat during dinner can't we?" he said walking towards the door.  
  
Amy heard only half of the words the headmaster had said. "uh... yeah." She said unsure for what she was saying 'yes' for. But it was good she did because it made her realize she was still standing in the door way.  
  
"Wonderful!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "I'll leave you two kids to talk." He said as he exited the room, a few seconds after Amy entered the it and got out of the door way, and closed the door.  
  
"Hi." She said in a low voice that sounded more like a loud whisper. It had been so long since she last saw him, since she last heard any news of him. She wanted to keep contact, but Dumbledore had said it was safer not to. Therefore she spent her days only wondering what he might be doing and raising the child he had only heard off.  
  
Snape stood there examining his wife. She looked just the way she looked like the last time he saw her, as beautiful as always. Sure she looked a bit more mature, but say she looked older was to say more then he saw. "Dumbledore said you had an incident?" he asked finally. 'Is that the best you can come up with?' he mentally slapped himself but kept looking at her waiting for an answer, for a reaction what not.  
  
Amy couldn't help feeling a little hurt. Fifteen years and the best he could come up with was 'Dumbledore said you had an incident.'? Although she was feeling hurt, she didn't let it show. "Lylah did." She answered simply.  
  
"What happened?" he asked, this time his voice had a tone of concern in it.  
  
"She... watched. Her boyfriend be murdered." Amy answered. She didn't wanted to tell him about Lylah almost being killed right after Greg was, but she knew she would have to eventually. Not at that time though.  
  
"Is she alright? I mean... how is she?" he answered gladly that they engaged in a conversation. It was terrible what had happen to his daughter and he was concerned, yes, but he was also happy to have his wife back.  
  
"She's holding up. Better then anyone would expect her to." She replied. "It's not easy to see someone being killed, specially someone you care about." She added and forced a smile. That was an awkward moment: she wanted to hold him, kiss him, beg him to never let her go again,a nd he wanted to do all those things but they both thought the other didn't want those things to happen.  
  
"I'm glad." He said and paused nervously. Why was that so hard? Truth was, he was afraid that she had found someone else. Someone that loved her and could protect her better then he could. The thought of she loving another and he having to let her go was repulsive and yet was clearer by the second on his mind. "And how are you?" he asked finally.  
  
"Me? I'm..." She begun. Amy wasn't expecting this question, although she really wanted him to ask it, she didn't think he would. She let out her breath and looked tenderly at him "I'm better." She said sweetly smiling.  
  
Better. Was that good or was that bad? Was she better because she had come back and was with him again or was she better because she had found someone that could give her more then he could, a better version of him? There was only one way to find out. He moved closer to her until he was standing only inches from her and placed a gentle hand on her cheek. His heart beating faster and faster, he wasn't sure if he could stand being rejected, not now that he had her back again.  
  
Every step he took towards her made her hope built up. It had been so long... She had never doubted his love for her, but what if things had changed? Deep in her heart she knew it was nonsense to think such things, but was it? When he touched her cheek Goosebumps shot through her body. Her eyes floated close, she smiled and tilted her head towards his hand.  
  
He rubbed his thumb on her cheek for a second or two before leaning forward and kissing her.  
  
She kissed him back. Something on the back of her mind was shouting 'It was about time!', but she completely ignored it. Actually she ignored everything else hat didn't involve her or Snape.  
  
He pulled away from the kiss he was waiting to give her for fifteen years, just to pull her closer to him into a hug. Her hair so close to his nose he could smell her shampoo. "I missed you so much." He finally whispered in her ear.  
  
"I missed you too!" she whispered in response holding him tightly. 


End file.
